Louisiana Mega Millions Update: New Rules and What They Mean for You

Starting Tuesday, April 8th, the Mega Millions lottery game is getting some big changes, and players across Louisiana can expect even bigger wins.

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It has been several years since Players have seen any updates to the popular lottery game.

Back in October 2017, the ticket price increased from $1 to $2  and the matrix and prize structure was updated.

Since then, players have requested bigger prizes for nonjackpot wins, better odds to win the jackpot, and larger, faster-growing jackpots.

Good News For Louisiana Mega Millions Players

This week, according to Joshua Johnston, the Mega Millions Lead Director, that's precisely what this new game delivers: "Players who had won $2 in the old game will now take home $10, $15, $20, $25, or $50 under this game. Those who had won $500 under the old rules will now take home $1,000, $1,500, $2,000, $2,500, or $5,000 in this new game. Non-jackpot prizes at every level are going up by 2X to 10X."

When will the first drawing of the New Mega Millions Game take place?

The final drawing of the original game was this past Friday, April 4th.

The new Mega Millions with the new prize structure will be held on Tuesday, April 8th, at 11p.m. Eastern time.

New Mega Millions Game Enhancements:

• Improved Overall Odds –  One gold Mega Ball from the game has been removed, increasing your odds to 1:23 from 1:24
• Improved odds to win the jackpot –The new game will feature 24 Mega Balls instead of 25. Odds to win the jackpot are now 1:290,472,336 from 1:302,575,350.
• Larger starting jackpots –The starting jackpot will reset to $50 million instead of  $20 million.
• Faster-growing jackpots and bigger jackpots more frequently – Jackpots will grow faster and get to higher dollar amounts more often. Lottery officials estimate that the average jackpot win will be more than $800 million vs. $450 million.
• 2X-10X prize increase with built-in random multiplier – Every non-jackpot win will multiply its base prize by 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X or 10X automatically. Prizes will range from $10 to $10 million vs. the $2 to $1 million.
• Win more than the cost to play – The minimum prize will be $10 on a winning ticket in the new game, which means every winning ticket will pay out at least double the $5 cost to play. The minimum prize on a winning ticket and cost to play are the same in the current game $2.

If there isn't a winner on April 4th, the final drawing for the old game, the jackpot from the current game will be rolled into the new game.

"Players who have a winning ticket that was issued for a drawing prior to the game change and who claim their prize by the deadline set by their participating lottery will be paid based on the prize matrix in effect during the time of the drawing for their ticket, regardless of when the prize is claimed."

Check out the new prize matrix below:

For more information about the New Mega Millions Game, visit their website here.